Bill blasted for big bite on schools

Updated:
Wednesday, April 26, 2000 12:00 AM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A car tag reduction bill backed by Gov. Frank Keating and Republican legislators would cost public education $76 million to $84 million a year, a state Senate budget leader said Wednesday.

"Given the fact that we rank in the bottom 10 in education funding, we should be working to get more money into our schools, not devising ways to cut their share of the budget pie further," Sen. Cal Hobson said.

Hobson, D-Lexington, said while everyone wants a cut in car tag costs, it must be done "responsibly, without hurting education, road construction or a number of other vital services. The Republican program doesn't do that."

The GOP plan would cost $138 million, although the impact for the first year would be about half that.

"No matter how you look at the Republican tag bill, it still adds up to a huge hit on public schools," Hobson said.

"With one hand, we were able to give teachers a $3,000 pay raise this year, but with the other hand, the Republicans are trying to take a good chunk of school funding that's needed for classroom expenses," he said.

Currently, schools get 35 percent of motor vehicle tag revenue. Counties get 12.5 percent for road programs and cities and towns get 3 percent. Another 2.33 percent go to various funds, with thebalance of 46.7 percent going to the state's General Revenue Fund.

Under that formula, the GRF would get $64.9 million next year. By tradition, 55 percent, or $35.5 million, would go to education, bringing education's total loss to $84 million.

Keating and GOP lawmakers have discussed taking the entire $138 million out of the GRF, but that would still mean a loss to education of $76 million, under the 55 percent formula, Hobson said.

Other areas that would lose money by using the GRF, he said, include transportation and general government, $14 million; human services, $16.8 million; public safety, $15 million, and health and social services, $12.5 million.

The Oklahoma Education Coalition issued a news release saying such a pay cut would have damaging consequences for many school districts and other educational entities already facing financial trouble because of unfunded mandates, rising insurance costs and growing enrollments.